What is a social media feed?

A social media feed is where all the action happens. It’s the stream of content you see when you open apps like Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, showing photos, videos, carousels (multi-photo posts), and more from accounts you follow and accounts suggested to you based on your interests. For Instagram, this means everything from your friend’s vacation shots to posts from accounts you might love but don’t follow yet.

How does Instagram’s feed work?

Instagram’s feed is powered by an algorithm that personalizes your experience based on your interests. It shows posts you’re most likely to interact with based on what you’ve engaged with in the past—think likes, comments, or time spent on similar content. It’s not just in chronological order, and it’s not just people you follow; Instagram says that “in addition to seeing content from people and hashtags you follow, you may also see suggested accounts that are relevant to your interests.”

Instagram takes a staggering number of ranking factors into account when organizing feeds. “We call these ‘signals,’ and there are thousands of them,” Mosseri says. Some of these include posts you’ve liked in the past, how popular the post is, who posted it, where it was posted, and much much more.

In an effort to be more transparent about ranking, Instagram recently shared its guidelines for what types of content it would move lower in feed and Stories. 

How can I ensure my Instagram posts are seen on people’s feeds?

To ensure your post is being prioritized in Instagram's feed, it’s important to create content that drives engagement. Likes, comments, and shares all send positive signals to the Instagram algorithm. Posting at the right time, when your audience is most active, can also help boost your visibility on the feed. And if you want to save time, use Buffer to schedule your posts ahead of time, making sure your content hits your audience at peak moments without you needing to be glued to your phone.